Countdown

And I'll Fix the potholes

Afore Ye .....

A Tip

"Thank you for keeping the internet clear of debris and accidents this year."

Someone had to do it Vicus...

Actually I think somebody special is going to give me my Golden Shovel Award ...

A Toast ...

Well then...

I'll never be Toastmaster again.

It is a long standing Fart tradition, since at least 2001, that there should be many toasts at Xmas dinner.

After doing The Queen, The Cooks, Absent Friends, The Scottish Distilling Industry, (and all who sail in her) and getting through a good portion of the phone book things got a bit fuzzy.

Anyway, Here's to you lot ...

Happy New Year...

Fa La La La La etc.

Drinking Xmas presents.

Installing Traditional Xmas Hangover.

Jingle Bells ...

Tis The Season etc.

Right.

Done the Xmas shopping.

Just a couple of things.

And lots of strawberries.

Very Jolly ....

Jam Today, Jam Tomorrow

From this afternoon the holiday traffic will start to build up.

On the highways, all major work is suspended, and every effort is made to avoid traffic delays.

In the cities, the opposite is true.

The holiday break is an ideal time to tackle major work.

Most importantly this break I will be lounging.

My truck is parked up in the yard, I am parked up on the couch.

This is the first time we have been parted since delivery and 72,000 km's.

It feels odd.

I hope I don't pine away ...

Xmas Spirit

I'm not well.

Company Xmas break-up Do.

Back to the couch ...

Crash Your Car Early This Xmas.

I chuckled a bit when I saw this.

Obviously the farmer over the road got very sick of "rescuers"

This car just sailed off the end of a straight piece of road, in daytime.

It only took out a fence, and ended up well off the road.

We like that ...

A Paucity Of Rhubarb ...

Rationing Queue London
One of my U.K. corespondents, ersatz soubriquet, has alerted me to a terrible crisis.

Britain is facing a Christmas rhubarb shortage.

The UK's crop is behind after record high temperatures in autumn and winter.

Happily relief is at hand.

Once more our small country has made the supreme sacrifice and sent some of ours.

They need more...

Wrap your rhubarb parcel, Kiwi's...

Custard too ...

It is Xmas, after all ....

All you need to know about Rhubarb.

"The Guangzong emperor (1620-1621) is miraculously cured from some severe illness he got after having had a joyful time with four "beautiful women" sent to him by a high official, cured with rhubarb, naturally. "

The Rhubarb Triangle, & The Rhubarb Special Express

Hot Babe with Rhubarb

Slavery

Hanan sends me the odd link now and then.

He tipped me off to an earnest discussion on Ask MetFilter about roading.

While reading this I came across a horror story.

What appalling working conditions those poor West Virginian road crews have to endure.

My heart goes out to them ...

Overhang ...

A dip in the road would make things interesting ....

Preparations

For Great Aunt Annie

We are flat out getting the road sorted for Xmas at the moment.
And it's bloody hot.

Everything has to buttoned down for the holiday traffic.

We aim to have no temporary speed restrictions.

The construction crews will be having a break too.

A few maintenance people stay on for routine work, and in case of slips, fallen trees etc.

This year I won't be one of them.

Oh dear, how sad, never mind ....

Pigeon Fanciers...

"Marksman called in to kill Kingston’s pigeons"

Check the comments!

Trucks and Us

The truck drivers were a bit cranky today.

There is a lot of work going on at the moment.

The rush is on to use fine weather to get the road sorted for the Christmas break.

This means lots of road works.


The CB crackles with complaints of trucks getting dirty.
(Hey we're working in the dust....)

Signs are another thing truckies complain about.

Not enough, or too many...

Yesterday I heard a conversation criticizing the way in which we pick up a set of signs.

We set them out and pick them up in a precise order. It is obvious when you think about it.

The Sign Truck goes with the traffic flow, first setting up the "Working Man" and moving towards the work site, then follows with the "Flagman", (Stop On Request) and then the speed restrictions.

The process is repeated from the other end, again going with the traffic flow.

Doing it in this manner means that you have some warning out as you set up the signs.

Picking them up, you also leave the "Working Man" last for the same reason. You work so that you have some signage behind you in the hope that nobody will kill you from behind.

We on the road have a good idea of the truckies gripes.

We drive trucks ourselves.

Sadly there are a lot out there who don't have a clue what we are doing and why...

So in a bid for a bit of mutual understanding & goodwill,

If you are from a trucking company and read this,
(I know a lot of you do ...)
I would gladly write something for your company magazine, or get answers to questions ...

And seeing it's Xmas,

For Free Too ...

Washing Day

The water blasting continues...


and another bunch of Doddery's time sheets arrives at the office...

Down Under ...

It's washing under bridges time again.

This really pisses the spiders off.

Doesn't do a lot for me either, you get covered in wet bird shit and mud.

I did take pity on mummy swallow though.

An indignant head popped up from a beautifully constructed nest.

Missed that bit ....

Bird Flu ?

Penguins wiped out by mystery illness

"All but one of the yellow-eyed penguin chicks hatched on Stewart Island this breeding season have died, from a mystery illness that has veterinarians scratching their heads."

Nice to see the concerned Police types with sneeze shields.

They must be waiting for the Ambulance...

One must do one's bit...

"Glass recyclers want the Government to encourage the use of crushed glass instead of mineral aggregate in base course for roading." Stuff

So every bottle you drain, saves a road somewhere....

Respect !

Guinness-guzzling camel crashes Xmas party

DUBLIN: Staff at an Irish riding school were forced to postpone festivities after Gus the camel chomped his way through 200 mince pies and several cans of Guinness intended for their Christmas party.

Gus, starring in the riding school's Santa's Magical Animal Kingdom show, helped himself to the feast while staff were getting changed for the party.

"Gus found his way out of his pen and helped himself," Robert Fagan, owner of the Mullingar Equestrian Centre in central Ireland, told Reuters.

The 11-year-old camel, originally from Morocco, cracked open six cans of Ireland's famous stout with his teeth after the door to his stall was left open.

Gus appeared well after Monday evening's feeding frenzy, Fagan said, adding: "We were all looking forward to it, but you couldn't blame him. He's really a very gentle, docile sort of camel."

Melting Moments

Someone up there has a sense of humour.

Here we are cleaning up after last week's rain, wind and cold and suddenly it's bloody hot.

Time for the annual bleeding tar panic.

And all my chocolate biscuits melted ...

Marks

There was a very lucky lady in that distant car today.

She clipped a truck & trailer, virtually head on.

The batteries in my camera were flat and I just got the one shot of the skid marks.

They tell a story.

You can see the single front tire marks heading off to the left side of the road.

The heavier ones are the trailer.

After the impact the truckie has come off the brakes and steered the rig off the road.

The car has rotated and gone into the opposite bank.

The driver was cut and bruised.

The impact was a glancing blow, the evasive action probably a life saver.

Supervisors Meeting

Xmas Photo
2006

Notis

An you Murmens and Adventurists Church fellas get often my landt to

You hav been warnd

D Fart.

Chocolate CHIP's

"Drunk drivers trying to sneak past police could be pulled over by an ice cream truck playing Greensleeves in a novel new campaign."
(NZH)

"Anything could be a police patrol car. We could be in an ice cream truck. We're trying to get people to think a bit more. But I don't want to give away too much."

"They might not even be motor vehicles. We could pull them over in anything - and it might not have four wheels,"

Road Block Awakino Hotel...

Camera Shy

Towies can be a bit strange sometimes ....